@SHidesertdog@KSL5TV Absolutely. Do I think that the current solar panels are a perfect solution? No, but what I do know is that by harnessing the power of the sun is a good things will happen.
Everyone is buzzing about Elon Musk and SpaceX launching a phone service. As of this week it is official, they told IPO investors they are coming for the US mobile market.
So let me walk through what it would actually take, because the dream and the engineering are two different animals.
Start with the network. Starlink direct-to-cell already works. The satellites are basically cell towers in space. But physics is the catch. A satellite 300 miles up can handle texts and basic data out in the open. It cannot see through a roof. The moment you step inside, into a basement or a parking garage, the sky connection dies.
So a real phone service cannot be satellite only. It has to fall back on a ground network instantly. That is why the smart money says SpaceX either rents towers through an MVNO deal, or goes nuclear and buys T-Mobile or AT&T outright, which is actually being floated. The $17 billion in spectrum they just bought is the tell.
The hard part is not the rockets. It is the invisible handoff between satellite and ground.
Then the phone itself. Musk says he would build one as a forcing function. But that needs a hardware partner, custom chips, and years. He admits it is two years out.
And the software. Remember the Fire Phone? Amazon tried this and died in a year, because a phone with no apps is a paperweight. No banking, no Uber, no group chat, dead on arrival.
But Musk owns X, Grok, and Starlink. He could bake messaging, payments, and a real AI assistant into the OS itself. The everything app. That is the only version with a prayer.
So what would it take? Spectrum he is buying. A network he must rent or own. A phone two years out. A new OS with apps from day one. And a seamless handoff that makes it all feel normal.
That is a mountain. He is one of the few who might climb it.
And here is where I land. I do not care whose name is on the phone. iPhone and Android have run a cozy duopoly for fifteen years, and your bill reflects exactly how much competition they feel. None.
Bring on a third option. Make them sweat.
Competition is the only thing that has ever lowered a price in the history of the world.
Write that down. 🦋
I had just been called as a high counselor in my stake, and as we were approaching the start of the temple dedication for the Syracuse, Utah Temple I had the direct impression to ask our newly called stake music director to compose and write an original song for the dedication. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine that she could create something magnificent. https://t.co/KfoB3hnuiz
@cb_doge I love how Elon basically says yeah we’re not going to put anybody out of business wink wink for now. Just give us time when we figure out phone technology and we have Starlink on phones. Then we’ll put everybody out of business.